ANN ARBOR -- The now annual tradition of college basketball coaches scrambling and scampering to fill holes dug by attrition is well underway.

Michigan is among the programs on the market, but being a buyer comes with cautious questioning.

"That's something we're always juggling -- bird in the hand or (hold out for 2015 and 2016 recruits)?" coach John Beilein said this week. "We're juggling it as we speak. Our (recruiting) board is pretty active up there right now."

Beilein learned over the last nine days that three scholarship players are leaving his program. Two, Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III, were expected. The NBA draft had been tugging their interest for some time. The third, Jon Horford, was unforeseen. He announced he's transferring for his final year of collegiate eligibility.

The departures leave U-M with 11 scholarship players for 2014-15, two under the NCAA allowance of 13.

That number could shrink to 10 if sophomore Mitch McGary enters the NBA draft.

Asked about adding players for next year's team this spring, Beilein said, "If the right opportunities exist, we will do that."

But it will be done cautiously.

"It's all about fit, and we'd rather have no one than the wrong guy," U-M assistant coach LaVall Jordan said. "A big part part of it is the campus visit and our (current players) being a part of the evaluation process and them getting to spend time (with the prospect)."

Two unsigned 2014 recruits will be in town this weekend to do exactly that. Visits are being taken by 6-foot-4 guards Aubrey Dawkins of New Hampton (N.H.) School and Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman of Allentown (Pa.) Central Catholic High School.

Dawkins is the son of Stanford coach and former NBA veteran Johnny Dawkins, while Abdur-Rahkman is Central Catholic's all-time leading scorer with 2,136 career points.

Michigan could potentially add one, both or neither. Scholarship offers will only be made if a comfort level is found.

"Maybe the worst thing you can do is be in a rush and get the wrong guy because there's also subtraction by addition," Jordan said. "It's got to fit with the guys in the locker room. We try to do our best to protect the locker room."

Beilein has also said Michigan could go the transfer route with its available scholarships. The program is reportedly in play for both Nevada transfer Cole Huff, a 6-foot-8 forward, and USC graduate transfer Byron Wesley, a 6-foot-5 guard.

Michigan hasn't welcomed in a scholarship transfer since guard Laval Lucas-Perry arrived from Arizona in 2007.

“I would be open to transfers,” Beilein said recently.

Knowing that Stauskas, Robinson and McGary were all on NBA radars through the season, Beilein said the coaching staff tried to keep a closer eye on still-available high school seniors than it might have normally.

"We tried to keep our options open," he said. "There weren't a lot out there, but we tried to stay in touch with some. There's usually some available that nobody knows about at the end."

The late signing period has been generous to Michigan in recent years. Sophomore Caris LeVert, a second team All-Big Ten selection in 2013-14, was scooped up in May of 2012 after his commitment to Ohio fell through. A month before that, in early April, U-M snagged Spike Albrecht as an unranked, unsigned prep point guard.

"The guys that have fallen through the cracks have been good for us," Jordan said. "You look at our roster and we've got a few of those guys."

The coaching staff, according to Jordan, relies on "word of mouth and credible sources" when jumping in to pursue a player this late in the game.

"Then we do our own intel, too," Jordan added.

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball and football. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com